Den of Lions
by Le Requiem
Summary: Guns, blood, and betrayal laced with an unlikely romance. 16 year old Haruno Sakura unwittingly finds herself caught in the crossfire of her father's dangerous world of violence and crime. Welcome to the lions' den — NaruSaku, AU, M for lang ON HIATUS


**-Disclaimer: This is a Disclaimer. Please don't take legal action. Kthnxbai- **

[**A/N**] May I suggest reading in the 3/4 format?

-

**-I-**

**-**

* * *

_BANG._

A spray of blood erupted from the man's chest as the bullet's impact forced him to stagger a few steps back. His gun clattered to the marble floor as he grabbed the front of his shirt, staring in disbelief at the blood that bloomed like a crimson flower across the white fabric.

She'd actually pulled it.

The fucking bitch had actually pulled the trigger.

He looked back up to his killer, his black pupils boring straight into her own horror-stricken eyes.

It was an ironic turn of events: in a matter of seconds he had gone from the murderer to the murdered.

Oh what a madly spinning world.

He took a step towards her with his arms extended, grinning wickedly as the girl sat frozen with terror. She was such a helpless, defenseless creature. It was so tempting that he couldn't help but lick his lips. If only he could get his hands on that soft, supple frame one last time.

She cringed away from him and shuddered as if she could read his mind. He narrowed his eyes mockingly at her.

Haruno Sakura.

He wondered if her fragile existence would be able to bear the gravity of what she had just done.

Probably not.

He found this hilarious and let out a bark of laughter. Then without warning, death came swooping down, ripping the soul from his body. His knees buckled and he stumbled forward, falling head first. There was a loud crack as his skull banged against the marble floor, the noise echoing throughout the empty dining hall. Sakura remained stunned in the eerie silence that followed. The smoking gun in her trembling hands was all she had left to hold onto.

**-x-**

Gripping the steering wheels, Asuma chewed on an unlit cigarette in agitation as he frantically wove through the early morning traffic. His eyes constantly attended to the rear view mirror, checking to see if any of the cars behind them were trailing them in a suspicious manner.

A bright yellow sports car suddenly veered in front of him, and Asuma cursed as he slammed on the brakes. He reached inside his jacket for the handgun, tensing for a confrontation. When he realized it was just an early morning idiot, he ground the cigarette between his teeth in annoyance. He swerved the car into the next lane and pressed down on the gas again. The BMW's powerful engine growled in response as it cruised past the jack ass that had cut him off.

A sign declaring the speed limit whipped by the car, flashing the number '65.' Asuma took his eyes away from the road for a second to glance at the dashboard, taking note of the needle as it steadily made its way past the eighty mark. He grimaced inwardly at the rising number, but he didn't plan on slowing down; to worry about a speeding ticket was ridiculous given the circumstances.

From the passenger's side, Haruno Asaka eyed his bodyguard warily. Asuma's expression was impassive, though his death grip on the steering wheel betrayed his unease. Asaka sighed as he relaxed deeper into the plush leather seat, loosening the black tie around his neck.

"l think it'd be all right to slow down a little bit—no one's even after us yet."

"You're right," the engine whined and Asaka felt the car jolt forward as Asuma pushed down harder on the gas, "which is why we should put as much space as possible between us and them before they can even think about catching up."

Asaka casually ran a hand through his black hair and gave Asuma a sideways glance with his jade green eyes. "Really? And who exactly are these 'they' you keep referring to? The last time I checked we didn't even know what continent those guys were from."

The bodyguard's eyes flicked into the rearview mirror again as he checked the traffic behind them. Asaka had a pretty damn good point, but anyone of those cars could be carrying the enemy. If they were good enough to be able to break into the Haruno Estate undetected, then their tracking skills were something they shouldn't simply dismiss.

"I'm just saying Asuma, slow down or else it might be _you _and that anxiety problem of yours that'll end up killing us all."

Asuma stayed silent while Asaka cleared his throat to make it known that he was being serious. The bodyguard gripped the steering wheel in frustration, but grudgingly relented and brought the beamer down to what he believed was a reasonable speed.

Asaka craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the speedometer. "Hmm…when I said slow down, I was hoping you'd get out of eighty miles per hour zone..."

"This is as slow as I'm going, so you'd better sit tight and deal with it," the bearded man grumbled as he ground his cigarette between his teeth in annoyance. He was careful to never light one around Sakura, but _damn,_ he could really go for a smoke right now.

Asaka tapped his fingers against the armrest as he stared out past the windshield and frowned. They were overtaking so many vehicles so quickly that it seemed like the other cars were almost at a standstill.

"Shit, we need to get on the 104," Asuma muttered. Suddenly, Asaka felt himself lurch to one side as Asuma once again veered the BMW into another lane, cutting into a group of cars and inciting a chorus of angry honks. Asaka twisted his neck to look out the back window, noting the angry look on the drivers' faces. He turned back around again and cocked his head to face his bodyguard, "Hey, maybe we should pull over and switch places. You've been at the wheel for a while and—christ, what's with that look on your face?"

"As your bodyguard, it's my duty to make sure that you don't put yourself in any danger. So please let me do my job, Asaka-_sama_."

Asaka frowned slightly. "Hey now—there's no need to start pulling out the honorifics."

"It's always a little healthy to remind you of your place and mine. Remember, this is my _job_ Asaka."

"Really? Because I don't remember hiring you for your sarcasm," the other man grumbled.

"Comes free of charge."

"Che…I don't even understand what the bid deal is. Danger? I_'_m Japan's Ryuu no Asaka—I _epitomize_ danger. I'm pretty sure I could handle a little driving. What's the worst that could happen? You think the steering wheel is going to come at me with a Glock-22 or something?"

"First of all, Asaka-_sama_—"

"Hey! What'd I say about using— "

Asuma raised his voice to speak over him, "We're not in Japan. This is America. Get it? Here in the states you're just Haruno Asaka, so don't start throwing around that useless title. Nobody here even probably even knows what language you're speaking. And second," keeping his eyes on the road, Asuma reached over with one hand, pulled down the shade in front of Asaka, and flicked open the mirror, "take a good look at your face. You're in no condition to even touch the steering wheel, so give it up already."

Asaka looked at his reflection, unsurprised by his bloodshot eyes, which were crisscrossed with red veins, begging for sleep. Using a fist, he rubbed at the dark, purple bags beneath them and then flashed himself a winning smile, "Well hello there, sexy."

Asuma rolled his eyes. "Just push back your chair and go to sleep. It's another hour until we get to the airport."

"No."

Asuma shook his head in exasperation. Sometimes, it was difficult for him to picture his employer as the same man who sat at the acme of Japan's underworld—the same underworld that Sakura had been dragged into. It was an ugly place of blood and lies where honor was scarce and treachery plentiful. A place where an innocent teenage girl l like her could—would—easily be torn to shreds.

He glanced at the rear view mirror to check up on the younger Haruno. She was sound asleep in the back seat, her head lolled against the side of the car as her breath fogged up the cold window. Looking at her face, clear of everything save the peaceful expression of sleep, Asuma couldn't hold back the heavy sigh that blew through his lips.

"Something wrong?" Asaka's eyes darted to the mirror as well. He caught the reflection of his pink-haired daughter, and his mouth hardened as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. It was a very minute change that took place on his face, but anyone who knew him could see the anger that blazed behind the expression. It was still difficult for him to accept that last night had actually happened.

He had always hoped to keep Sakura utterly isolated from his second, darker life. The secrets of his blood- soaked position as a mob boss were supposed to be kept locked away in Japan, light years away from his life in the states—the one sanctum he had where the darkness couldn't touch his sanity. He had believed he could do it, believed he could lead two lives completely separate from each other.

He had been a fool.

Last night, a those bastards crawled out of that damnable world like a swarm of cockroaches and sullied the life he had tried so hard to protect.

Asaka's face darkened even more, finally revealing the dangerous Mafioso that lurked beneath his usually carefree attitude.

They were still unsure of whom the enemies were, but one thing he knew for certain: it was not only an attack against the Kuroryuu Group, but his family as well.

And for that, he'd crush them.

**-x-**

Uchiha Fugaku slammed an angry fist on his desk, rattling his shot glass and causing drops of sake to slosh out and spill onto the fine, mahogany wood. "What do you mean, you failed?! I gave you twenty of our best trained and you _still_ managed to screw up?!" Spittle flecked out of the head Uchiha's mouth as he shouted at the man cowing before him. Behind him, past the traditional shoji windows, a chorus of cicadas screamed harshly in Japan's warm, summer night.

"M-my utmost apologies Fugaku-sama," Uchiha Ken stuttered, "but we just received a call from one of the agents a few moments ago. Apparently he was the only one that survived—"

Fugaku grabbed the bottle of sake off the table and flung it towards the underling. It crashed into the bookcase behind him, splintering into shards of wet glass. "Survived? _Survived_?! What do you mean _survived_? You make it sound like _we_ were attacked, damnit!"

Ken rushed the excuse that he had been told, "Apparently Haruno-san's men were too strong and—"

"Too strong? The man only has _two_ bodyguards, for god's sake! What about Goro? Wasn't he supposed to be the one to capture the Haruno brat? What happened to him?"

"According to the report, he had possession of the girl, but he was gunned down in the end, most likely by one of the bodyguards."

Fugaku's expression turned from angry to furious. It had taken months and a considerable amount of money for him to track down that bastard Asaka back to his home in America. And now, with the failure of this mission, the one kink in Haruno's armor—his precious daughter—had snapped closed again. Knowing him, the sneaky dog was probably long gone now, leaving behind nothing but a trail of smoke that would quickly disperse before he could even get a whiff of it.

He boiled with frustration and shot the man across from him a glare; his coal-black eyes livid with anger. "Tell me. Who was the idiot in charge of this mission?" It was an order, not a question.

Ken's face was contorted with fear as he slowly raised a shaking hand, "It-it was me Fugaku-sama. But next time, I swear I'll succeed! Just give me one more chance—"

"Your groveling is making me sick. Get out."

"I swear Fugaku-sama, next time—"

"I said _get out_!" Fugaku bellowed.

The man let out an imperceptible squeal as he scurried out of the office in fear. As soon as the door shut, the Uchiha patriarch narrowed his eyes where Ken had just been. "Madara."

The bodyguard that had been standing behind his desk tilted his head towards his employer, "Yes sir?"

"Make sure that idiot doesn't make it past the front door."

Madara nodded and silently left the room, gun loaded and in hand.

Fugaku laced his fingers together and brought them to his face.

_Don't think this is over yet, Haruno. You can rest for now, but the game has only begun. Just wait, I'll find your brat and put an end to you and that damn Kuroryuu group once and for all_.

He picked up the shot glass and gently swirled the liquor.

BANG.

A shot rang through the compound, followed by a scream of agony. Six more followed and the screams turned into blubbering sobs. A smile played on Fugaku's face as he spoke to himself, "That's cruel Madara, keeping him alive like that."

On the seventh shot, the wailings were cut short and the mansion went dead silent. Fugaku tilted his head back and downed the sake.

It burned like hell all the way down.

**

* * *

**

**FYI: **_  
Ryuu no Asaka_- Dragon's Asaka  
_Kuroryuu_- Black Dragon  
_Uchiha Fugaku_- (if you don't remember) Sasuke's father

[**A/N] **Super shout out to **Abhorson** for her awesome beta skills. This girl is amazing. Read her stuff. DO IT. Ah ha. And also **BruHaeven** roomate slash bestfriend slash demi-beta. Thanks to everyone else who's stuck with this, for sticking with it ^^b.

**Comments/[Reviews]/Suggestions Appreciated**  
**Thanks guys!**


End file.
